Page 971 – “…Mountains of Shadow were veiled in a golden mist.”

Well, that has nothing to do with Lord of the Rings, but I saw The Lego Movie tonight, and it’s really worth it. Not to plug for totally unrelated stuff, but really. Best movie for me, at least right now.

Anyway, let’s return to Aragorn and Gandalf’s mountain jaunt!

I’m too old for this…

Of course, there has to be a point to this. Gandalf tells Aragorn that his (Gandalf’s) time in Middle-earth is ending, and Aragorn must lead the remaining men well as their king. The lands before him will all be under his dominion. However, Aragorn is waiting for some kind of sign. Gandalf tells him to turn around, and Aragorn sees a single tree growing out of the mountainside. It’s a tree similar to the white tree that Gondor prizes so highly, though it’s impossible to know how it rooted or grew up here.

First Mentions:

-Nimloth: Ancient white tree of Númenor, descended from…

-Galathilion: Ancient white tree made and tended by the Valar, descended from…

-Telperion: One of the great Two Trees, white and shining with a silver light. Yes, there are better records of the ancestry of some trees than of certain family lines.

This is a play by Gandalf to tell Aragorn to get a move on in letting things (read: his friends) go. Aragorn seems to be worried that his line will fail just like all those before him, and somehow this tree signifies for him that it will not. That’s putting a lot of faith in trees, but whatever.

*glorious music*

Meanwhile, as Gandalf mentions that the Third Age is ending, I have to wonder who decides all these things? What authority is sitting in their towers saying: “Oh, I think it’s time to start a new age. Tell your friends!”? I would assume that it’s actually someone like Gandalf or Elrond, but we don’t get specifics. There has to be some system like the one that Westeros employs with maesters sending ravens here and there to tell people important things.

Words My Computer Didn’t Like:

-unmingled

–utúvienyes

-Nimloth

-Galathilion

-Telperion

Believe in yourselves, friends, and you too can rule the reunited kingdoms of men.

Wait, was that what I learned today? Shoot.

No one dies today.

“‘But this is an ancient hallow, and ere the kings failed or the Tree withered in the…'”